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Rolex extends partnership through 2023

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BRASELTON, Ga. – The American Junior Golf Association announced July 17 that Rolex has expanded its Premier Partnership through 2023 to include the new Rolex AJGA Rankings.

In addition to its support of the Rolex Girls Junior Championship, Rolex will support the Rolex AJGA Rankings and move the Rolex Tournament of Champions to November to follow the Rolex Junior All-America Awards Banquet at PGA National Resort & Spa.

The Rolex AJGA Rankings recognize more than 1,800 boys and more than 700 girls based on points earned at AJGA tournaments and nationally-recognized junior golf events. Rankings determine Priority Lists for AJGA Invitationals and entry into AJGA Open and Preview events. They also determine the teams for the Rolex Junior All-America postseason honors and the members of the Wyndham Cup, Junior Presidents Cup and the PING Junior Solheim Cup teams. The Rolex AJGA Rankings system is widely considered as the top metric in junior golf. Rolex is also a proud sponsor of the Rolex Rankings for the LPGA Tour.

The Rolex Tournament of Champions, one of two original tournaments on the AJGA schedule, will now follow the Rolex Junior All-America Awards Banquet to create “The Greatest Week in Junior Golf.” The top 144 boys and girls will compete in a four-day, stroke-play event that will conclude with a new Rolex Celebratory Dinner to cap off the week. Since 1978, former participants have included Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler, Lexi Thompson, Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer and Ariya Jutanugarn.

“A strong supporter of the golf industry, Rolex has provided a platform for amazing performances and inspired dreams across four decades,” AJGA Executive Director Stephen Hamblin said. “We are proud to have Rolex as a Premier Partner and excited to see their involvement with junior golf grow.”

Rolex’s support has allowed the AJGA to assist junior golfers launch onto a big stage, perhaps most importantly as the founding partner of the AJGA’s ACE Grant program. The reimbursement program ensures competitive opportunities for all talented junior golfers regardless of financial circumstance.

The Rolex Girls Junior Championship was held June 12-16, 2017, at Biltmore Forest Country Club in Asheville, North Carolina. Rachel Heck of Memphis, Tennessee, won her first AJGA Invitational after top-10 finishes in each of her last seven AJGA Invitationals.

 

About Rolex

Leading brand of the Swiss watch industry, Rolex, headquartered in Geneva, enjoys an unrivalled reputation for quality and expertise the world over. Its Oyster and Cellini watches, all certified as Superlative Chronometers for their precision, performance and reliability, are symbols of excellence, elegance and prestige. Founded by Hans Wilsdorf in 1905, the brand pioneered the development of the wristwatch and is at the origin of numerous major watchmaking innovations, such as the Oyster, the first waterproof wristwatch, launched in 1926, and the Perpetual rotor self-winding mechanism invented in 1931. Rolex has registered over 400 patents in the course of its history. A truly integrated and independent manufacturing company, Rolex designs, develops and produces in-house all the essential components of its watches, from the casting of the gold alloys to the machining, crafting, assembly and finishing of the movement, case, dial and bracelet. Rolex is also actively involved in supporting the arts, sports, exploration, the spirit of enterprise, and the environment through a broad palette of sponsoring activities, as well as philanthropic programmes.

About the AJGA

The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The AJGA provides valuable exposure for college golf scholarships, and has an annual junior membership (boys and girls, ages 12-19) of more than 6,600 members from 50 states and 55 foreign countries. Through initiatives like the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant, a financial assistance program, and Leadership Links, a service-oriented platform that teaches juniors charitable-giving skills, the AJGA fosters the growth of golf’s next generation.

TaylorMade-adidas Golf became the AJGA’s National Sponsor in 2016 after more than 25 years of support. Rolex, which is in its fourth decade of AJGA sponsorship, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. In 2017, adidas joined the AJGA as a Premier Partner, serving as the Official Apparel and Footwear of the AJGA.

AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. Former AJGA juniors have compiled more than 830 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Webb Simpson, Sergio Garcia, Hunter Mahan, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Zach Johnson, Justin Thomas, Stacy Lewis, Ariya Jutanugarn, Alison Lee, Lexi Thompson, Inbee Park, Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome, Cristie Kerr and Morgan Pressel.